Job Standards FAQ
- Job Fields, Families, Categories and Levels
- General
- Mapping Employees
- New Compensation Structure
- Reclassification Pause -- See Campus Memo
Job Fields, Families, Categories and Levels
For different job families, there are categories of jobs, and levels in the new job structure. What do those terms mean? (Visit Job Structure Layout)
The terms in the proposed job structure distinguish the work that people perform. By looking at the differences in scope and responsibility between jobs, we can describe each job more accurately in relation to other jobs.- A job field is a group of jobs that involve work in the same general occupation. These jobs have related knowledge requirements, skill sets, and abilities. Finance is an example of a field.
- A job family is a more specific functional area within a field. In a family, the same or relatively similar work is performed, a similar skill set is required, and it is possible to move within the family with minimal training. For example, Purchasing is a family within the Finance field.
- A job category defines the type of work performed, as opposed to the occupation or subject matter. The three categories are: 1) Operational & Technical, 2) Professional, 3) Supervisory & Managerial. A job family can include more than one type of work, so within Purchasing, you could have jobs in both professional and supervisory & managerial categories.
- The job level reflects the amount of responsibility, impact, and scope that a job has. We have determined the appropriate number of levels within each category per job family by looking at market survey data and working with subject matter experts for that family and field. For example, a Buyer in the Professional job category could be a level 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 professional. In the Operational & Technical category, there are 3 levels, and for Supervisory Managerial, there are a total of 6. Establishing the appropriate number of levels based on category facilitates comparison of UC Berkeley jobs with comparable jobs in market salary surveys. At the same time, not all UCB job families will require the full number of levels. The number of levels in UCB’s Career Compass job structure for each family is dependent on how the work is currently organized at UCB.
How will the campus keep the Job Structure up-to-date in the future?
The Compensation Unit will regularly review our Job Structure and compare it to the external market. We will update our market survey data so we have the information to make recommendations on adjusting UCB’s compensation structures in the future.General
Why is Career Compass developing Job Standards?
The campus has no standardized method for developing job descriptions. Often the same job is described in different ways or different jobs have the same or similar job titles, leading to significant confusion as well as some inequity across campus. A standard method for analyzing jobs will help ensure consistency and make it easier to see how jobs with different titles may share some characteristics. It will also save time when new job descriptions are being developed or revised.What if I was unable to get comments in on a specific job family before the comment period ended?
The comment period will not be extended since the job description templates that will be developed from the standards are only meant to capture the majority of the job responsibilities. Managers and employees will still be able to edit the job description template so it is specific to the individual employee. Employees will not be adversely affected since there will be an opportunity to provide additional clarification in the description submitted for the employee. Extending the comment period would delay the production of job description templates for mapping. Many managers are eager to start using these templates since they are easier to work with than the current format.What if the Job Standard does not fully represent the work that I do?
The generalized job standards may not fully reflect the unique work each individual may be asked to perform as part of his or her regular responsibilities. The goal is to capture at least 70% of the predominant job duties for a given job family. Supervisors and managers can use the generic job description templates as a basis to develop customized job descriptions that reflect the individual’s unique responsibilities, yet still align to the job standards for all campus staff in that job.Mapping Employees
How are you going to match my current job to the new structure and who will do the matching?
Supervisors and individual employees may provide input on the specific work that the staff member performs by: 1) choosing what appears as the closest match to a job family and level on the Career Compass website, 2) downloading the job standard to a job description, and 3) customizing it for each employee or group of employees who perform essentially the same duties. Supervisors will then work with human resource managers in their departments to ensure the mapping recommendation seems appropriate. The recommendation will be reviewed by the Compensation Unit to ensure we have consistency across the campus. For positions with large populations that are highly technical, and/or exist across several departments on Campus, there will be Mapping Advisory Committees in place to ensure consistency across the Campus. Once this initial work is done to match all the current jobs to the structure, an ongoing process will be designed, and an appeal process will be available for staff and supervisors.How can I determine if I am mapping a job properly if I have an employee who administers the department's web site, requiring both IT and writing skills. How can I determine which is the better match?
When mapping your jobs to the Career Compass job families, you should apply the "Majority Rule": If a majority of the employee's job fits the job family definition, then the job should be mapped to that job family. In most cases the Majority Rule will apply. For example, if your website administrator applies predominantly IT knowledge and skills rather than Writing skills, and the majority of the job fits one of the IT job families (e.g., Applications Programming), the position should be mapped to THAT job family.For detailed information on mapping "hybrid" scenarios, please consult the table on Hybrid Jobs.
To assist with the job mapping process, and to provide information for those fields and families that have not yet been posted onto the website, we have created a PDF document summarizing job family descriptions for all of the job families. Please find this document in the "Related Info" sidebar on most pages of the Job Standards section. For a direct link, visit: http://careercompass.berkeley.edu/pdfs/JobFamilyDescriptions.pdf.
How will employees in hybrid jobs who have responsibility for multiple administrative areas such as HR, Budget, Payroll, and Facilities be mapped?
If an employee has multi-functional responsibility for a combination of different areas which are all important and necessary for the role, the job will likely be mapped to the Administrative Operations family within the General Administration field.
If this hybrid job is an individual contributor role (does not have 2 FTE or more employees reporting to them), the job would be mapped to a new Administrative Business Operations Officer job in the professional category.
If the role has multi-functional responsibility (as indicated above) and oversees 2 or more FTE, the job would likely map to the Administrative Operations Supervisor or the Administrative Operations Manager jobs in the supervisory and managerial category within the Administrative Operations family (General Administration field).What about other hybrid job scenarios where one set of responsibilities may constitute the majority of the job?
The major duties of a given job will determine how to map it to a new job family. The chart below recommends a solution for mapping each hybrid job to a new job family:
| Situation | Solution |
|---|---|
| (1) One set of duties constitutes over 50% of the job. | Use the job family that constitutes over 50% of the job. |
| (2) No set of duties constitutes over 50% of the job, but one set of duties is greater than any other. | Use the job family that has a greater % of duties than any other job family. |
| (3) No set of duties clearly predominates. | Use the job family that you would emphasize when recruiting for the position. |
| (4) No set of duties clearly predominates, and the combination of duties is captured in a “multi-functional” job family. | If the combination of duties is captured by a defined “multi-functional” job family, and such job family is a better match than other, more specific, job families, use the “multi-functional” job family (examples include Administrative Operations within General Administration; HR Generalist within Human Resources; Information Systems within Information Technology). |
If an employee supervises at least 2.0 FTEs, but also performs a significant amount of non-supervisory duties, should I map the employee to a Supervisory & Managerial, Professional, or Operational & Technical job?
The employee should be mapped to a new job based on the percent of time spent supervising or managing others, and the type of personally performed duties that are non-supervisory in nature. Recommended solutions for each type of situation are outlined in the following chart:
| Situation | Solution |
|---|---|
| (1) The employee spends more than 50% of the time supervising and/or managing. | Use the relevant Supervisory & Managerial job description template for job mapping. To insert personally performed duties into the Essential Functions section of the job description, use the appropriate Operational & Technical or Professional job description template for examples of duties. |
| (2) The employee spends less than 50% of the time supervising and/or managing, and the personally performed duties fall into the Operational & Technical category. | Use the relevant Supervisory & Managerial job description template for job mapping. To insert personally performed duties into the Essential Functions section of the job description, use the appropriate Operational & Technical or Professional job description template for examples of duties. |
| (3) The employee spends less than 50% of the time supervising or managing, and the personally performed duties fall into the Professional category. | Use the relevant Professional job description template, and complete the Supervisory section of the Professional job description template. To insert supervisory duties into the Essential Functions section of the job description, use the appropriate Supervisory & Managerial job description template for examples of duties. |
What if an employee has a split assignment between two jobs or units?
Each supervisor or manager of an employee with multiple assignments will need to map the employee to the job standard that best fits that particular assignment. It is our practice now, and will be going forward, to track each assignment individually in the HR system.Will employees have a say in the mapping of their positions?
Employees will have the opportunity to review the job description developed by their supervisor to verify that the responsibilities stated are being performed and that the approximate percentages of time allocated are accurate. After the job description is submitted to the HR Compensation unit, it will be reviewed by a Compensation Consultant to determine the Job Level. In some large occupational areas, such as Information Technology and Library Assistants, the campus will continue to have committees of campus experts to provide advice to the Compensation Unit.Will supervisors and managers have to update all the job descriptions?
Yes. For job mapping purposes, supervisors and managers will need to develop current job descriptions for their non-represented staff; however, they will be able to select from pre-filled job description templates and edit those job descriptions to reflect the specific responsibilities of employees. The Compensation Unit needs a current Job Description that accurately reflects the position’s responsibilities so the position can be appropriately mapped.What if a supervisor or manager wants to re-think the whole operation, rather than just mapping everyone into a new Job Family?
When considering reorganizing a unit, based on business needs, we encourage you to talk with your Employee Relations Specialist.Will supervisors and managers still have flexibility to design jobs based on what is needed in the organization?
Yes. As a manager or supervisor, you will still have the flexibility to design jobs that make sense for your department, and we expect that the new tools at your disposal will make this process easier. Campus job description templates can be edited to reflect the responsibilities performed by the employee.
What happens if someone’s new classification is "lower" than the old one?
Some of the new job series have fewer levels than the current job series. Therefore, having a lower number in the title does not indicate that the new classification is "lower." For example, a current Programmer Analyst III might be comparable to an Information Systems Analyst 2. In any case, when the new classifications are implemented, an employee's salary will not be affected.What if I can't find a specific job family that matches my job, even though I am certain the job belongs to a job field that has already been published? For example, I have an employee who clearly performs IT work, but I cannot find the specific type of IT work in any of the IT job families. What should I do?
If you are certain that a job belongs in an already released job field, but you cannot find the appropriate job family, please contact your Department HR manager or the Comp Desk at compdesk@berkeley.edu. If possible, please attach the relevant job description. If you do not have an electronic copy of the job description, please provide a brief description of the position's duties and responsibilities, and an explanation of why they do not seem to match any of the distributed job families.
When a job seems to fit a particular job family, but the duties and responsibilities are at a lower level than the lowest Professional level available on the website for that family, how do I map that employee?
The best match might be a job standard in a given job family (either Operational & Technical or Professional) this is currently represented by a bargaining unit. Job Standards for represented work are not yet available on the Career Compass website, but summaries have been developed to assist with the mapping process and can be viewed at http://careercompass.berkeley.edu/pdfs/RepresentedWorkDescriptions.pdf. If your position seems to match one of those summary descriptions, follow these procedures:
1. Send an e-mail to your Mapping Coordinator with the following information:
- Employee’s name
- Employee’s current classification
- Which Job Family you’ve tentatively mapped the employee to
- Which category you’ve tentatively mapped the employee to (e.g., Operational & Technical, Professional)
- If you’ve tentatively mapped the employee to the Professional category, specify that the employee’s position seems to fit the summary description for covered work more closely than the published Professional job standards on the Berkeley Job Builder.
2. Hold off mapping your employee until the appropriate job standard does become available.
Why do some job families have an entire category or level missing?
Not all job families have jobs in all 3 categories (Operational & Technical, Professional, and Supervisory & Managerial). For example, many families do not have jobs in the Operational & Technical category, which covers support, operational, technical, skilled or semi-skilled positions and are usually represented by a collective bargaining unit.The number of job levels is based on what generally exists in the marketplace and what UC Berkeley needs. The job families were developed in consultation with campus managers and staff experts in each subject area. In many instances, these "subject matter experts" provided confirmation that some categories and/or levels were not necessary for a specific job family as currently performed on campus.
Where are the job standards for most of the Operational & Technical positions?
The job standards for most of the Operational & Technical category are subject to collective bargaining and are part of Phase 2 of this initiative. This category includes support, operational, technical, skilled or semi-skilled positions.Specific standards will not be available for campus review until 2008 after review by bargaining units. Following a campus comment period, represented employees will be mapped into these nonexempt jobs. The campus will receive communication from HR when these standards are available for campus comment.
For a better understanding of the Operational & Technical category, please view the generic scope levels established for these positions.
Will the Job Description form be easier to complete?
Yes, a pre-filled Job Description form will be available, and should be much easier to use. We expect over 50% of the work will already be completed for managers and supervisors when they use the Job Descriptions specific to the employee’s Job Field, Family, Category and Level. This should significantly reduce the effort needed to provide Job Descriptions for each employee. If existing Job Descriptions are current, information may be transferred to the appropriate Job Description template.New Compensation Structure
Will there be any pay or benefits changes when employees are mapped into new jobs?
No pay or benefits changes will occur at the time employees are mapped. However, better reference salary ranges will guide future pay decisions.How will the different levels on the Career Compass standards correspond with new salary grades and ranges?
Each job standard has corresponding market data that we will collect from third-party salary surveys to align our pay practices with other Bay Area public and private employers. Once the standards are finalized, they will be compared to market data for each occupational family, and salary ranges will be determined. A level 2 professional in one family will not necessarily be paid within the same grade and range as a level 2 professional in another family since the prevailing pay practices for professions differ in the marketplace. Each job will be assigned a salary grade and range that is representative of the typical wage levels paid in the market for comparable duties, skills and other requirements. This process will take place in late 2008.How will this program affect future salary decisions?
The Compensation Unit is responsible for reviewing and recommending changes to the policies and procedures that affect staff salaries. The Compensation Unit is developing recommendations for a compensation program that will meet campus goals. In addition, the UC Regents are committed to a long-range goal of generally bringing base salaries closer to market levels.After the program is designed and implemented, factors that affect pay will include the employee’s position within their new salary range and their performance. Salary increases will also depend on the personnel policy or bargaining agreement that covers the position and the funding available to the campus. Additional information will be provided to supervisors and managers at a later date regarding compensation administration policies and procedures.
Why is matching jobs to market so important?
Campus pay programs must be more sensitive to the market because the campus competes against other employers (both private and public) for the best talent. Therefore, the campus’ jobs must be linked to similar jobs in the market and tied to salary ranges based on market pay. Once jobs are more clearly defined within salary ranges appropriate to the market, the job and compensation structures will be easier to understand and administer.How can higher education professions be compared to the outside market?
We are using a number of reputable third-party market salary surveys to link UCB’s jobs to the Bay Area market, including two well-known surveys that specialize in educational institutions. Because we compete with public and private organizations in the Bay Area for employees, our survey data will also include market salary information gathered from local companies.How will reclassifications happen in the new system?
Supervisors and managers will be asked to submit reclassification requests based on the new Job Description templates. The Compensation Unit will review future reclassification requests based on the Job Levels defined in the Job Structure.